Lyson inks for Canon Pixma Pro 9000

Hi all
Has anyone used Lyson refillable carts and inks in a Pro9000 and if so could they recommend them (or not)? I know I should use Canon ink and previous 3rd party inks I've tried have been pretty awful but Canon are becoming very expensive and Lyson is a reputable make.
Any opinions appreciated.
Martin

Hi all

Has anyone used Lyson refillable carts and inks in a Pro9000 and if so could they recommend them (or not)? I know I should use Canon ink and previous 3rd party inks I've tried have been pretty awful but Canon are becoming very expensive and Lyson is a reputable make.

Personally I wouldn't touch Lyson with a barge pole. I've heard so many horror stories about people having trouble with their system. A local photographic retailer that I know stopped selling the Lyson system due to the large amount of problems the system caused, blocked heads, to list just one of them.

Personally I wouldn't touch Lyson with a barge pole. I've heard so many horror stories about people having trouble with their system. A local photographic retailer that I know stopped selling the Lyson system due to the large amount of problems the system caused, blocked heads, to list just one of them.

[quote]Personally I wouldn't touch Lyson with a barge pole.[/quote]
Stay away. Period.
Been there and got the scars - took me no end of grief to get full recompense for the costs involved.
You have been warned.

Quote:Personally I wouldn't touch Lyson with a barge pole.

Stay away. Period.

Been there and got the scars - took me no end of grief to get full recompense for the costs involved.

Why spend £400 or so on a printer then use anything else than originals?
When buying you have to remember the coverage is only about 5% of a sheet of A4, full A4 or A3 photo prints will drain the cartridges much quicker.

Why spend £400 or so on a printer then use anything else than originals?

When buying you have to remember the coverage is only about 5% of a sheet of A4, full A4 or A3 photo prints will drain the cartridges much quicker.

Got to agree with what has already been said, I had a lot of problems with a Lyson CIS system on an Epson 1290, which resulted in me having to dispose of the printer and I replaced it with the Canon 9000 Pro Mk II, and I promised myself that no Lyson ink is going anywhere near it.
On top of that you will have a major headache trying to colour match for the Lyson as it has such a strong magenta cast.
I would perhaps look at gammut matched 3rd party inks, but stay away from Lyson.

Got to agree with what has already been said, I had a lot of problems with a Lyson CIS system on an Epson 1290, which resulted in me having to dispose of the printer and I replaced it with the Canon 9000 Pro Mk II, and I promised myself that no Lyson ink is going anywhere near it.

On top of that you will have a major headache trying to colour match for the Lyson as it has such a strong magenta cast.
I would perhaps look at gammut matched 3rd party inks, but stay away from Lyson.

I've always liked the results I got with my lyson cis, lyson ink and R1900 BUT my R1900 has just reached the 'parts need service' routine after (another) ink blockage. Last time I had that with an epson it was new printer time so I'm saving up, but there will be no cis and no lyson ink this time. lesson learned. eventually.

I've always liked the results I got with my lyson cis, lyson ink and R1900 BUT my R1900 has just reached the 'parts need service' routine after (another) ink blockage. Last time I had that with an epson it was new printer time so I'm saving up, but there will be no cis and no lyson ink this time. lesson learned. eventually.

I've just bought a Pro9000 MkII and was considering the Lyson re-fill system, hoping that the dye inks and a Canon would be less problematic than my experiences (below) with my Epson R2880 (bought about 3 years ago) and pigment inks. Having read the posts I'm having second thoughts.
R2880/Lyson CIS hassles:
I installed the Lyson CIS. It worked well for about 18 months before the yellow jet started blocking frequently, then the complete cartridge set wasn't being recognised every so often and so I went back to Lyson (Marrutt). After a good deal of hassling they sent a replacement CIS. That worked fine for about 6 weeks then the old problems returned. They persisted, despite using Magic Bullet cleaner and following Lyson's cleaning instructions. Eventually the printer refused to recognise the cartridge set almost every other print job and the yellow jet needed frequent cleaning. So I took the CIS out, bought a set of Espon inks and it all worked fine. Marrutt still claim that my issues were unique and they weren't related to the CIS or Lyson inks. All that said the prints, when you get them, are superb.

I've just bought a Pro9000 MkII and was considering the Lyson re-fill system, hoping that the dye inks and a Canon would be less problematic than my experiences (below) with my Epson R2880 (bought about 3 years ago) and pigment inks. Having read the posts I'm having second thoughts.

R2880/Lyson CIS hassles:

I installed the Lyson CIS. It worked well for about 18 months before the yellow jet started blocking frequently, then the complete cartridge set wasn't being recognised every so often and so I went back to Lyson (Marrutt). After a good deal of hassling they sent a replacement CIS. That worked fine for about 6 weeks then the old problems returned. They persisted, despite using Magic Bullet cleaner and following Lyson's cleaning instructions. Eventually the printer refused to recognise the cartridge set almost every other print job and the yellow jet needed frequent cleaning. So I took the CIS out, bought a set of Espon inks and it all worked fine. Marrutt still claim that my issues were unique and they weren't related to the CIS or Lyson inks. All that said the prints, when you get them, are superb.

[quote]I've always liked the results I got with my lyson cis, lyson ink and R1900 BUT my R1900 has just reached the 'parts need service' routine after (another) ink blockage. Last time I had that with an epson it was new printer time so I'm saving up.[/quote]
Apologies for taking this somewhat off topic but the "[i]Parts in your printer have reached the end of their service life[/i]" is not a death sentence for any Epson printer.
Waste ink kits and service utilities are available that effectively potty train your printer [i](ie: piddling to an external tank instead of into its nappy)[/i] rather than sending it to the scrap heap. Epson are really "good" at telling you that you need a new printer but it's far from the case.
Just a thought.
Back on topic, refillable Canon cartridges are generally nowhere near as good a quality as you'll get with the original cartridges. The Pro 9000 in particular have a great set of clear CLI-8 cartridges (unlike the totally opaque type you get in it's replacement, the Pro 100) so you can actually see what you're doing when you refill them. Without wishing to promote another forum there's simply too much valuable information on the nifty-stuff forum spaces regarding Canon printers and refilling particular so you'd be crazy to ignore it.
The quick version however is that good ink flow is vital to any refilling and the Canon OEM carts are just designed so well as to provide this, even after multiple refills. Top-filling is simple enough and there's the Durchstich (German) method for those who prefer it too. If you get feed issues it's easy to assume the problem is clogging but often it's down to flow within the cartridge and remedying it can be relatively painless so long as you take your time.
As for inks I have a vested interest so I'm going to keep schtum on that, but given the 9000 has been around for so long the inks available are obviously pretty established and tweaked as they'll ever be.
As with all things it's easy to assume it'll "just work" but often there's a learning curve to offset the initial cost savings. Worth taking the time though but again I'm biased ;)

Quote:I've always liked the results I got with my lyson cis, lyson ink and R1900 BUT my R1900 has just reached the 'parts need service' routine after (another) ink blockage. Last time I had that with an epson it was new printer time so I'm saving up.

Apologies for taking this somewhat off topic but the "Parts in your printer have reached the end of their service life" is not a death sentence for any Epson printer.

Waste ink kits and service utilities are available that effectively potty train your printer (ie: piddling to an external tank instead of into its nappy) rather than sending it to the scrap heap. Epson are really "good" at telling you that you need a new printer but it's far from the case.

Just a thought.

Back on topic, refillable Canon cartridges are generally nowhere near as good a quality as you'll get with the original cartridges. The Pro 9000 in particular have a great set of clear CLI-8 cartridges (unlike the totally opaque type you get in it's replacement, the Pro 100) so you can actually see what you're doing when you refill them. Without wishing to promote another forum there's simply too much valuable information on the nifty-stuff forum spaces regarding Canon printers and refilling particular so you'd be crazy to ignore it.

The quick version however is that good ink flow is vital to any refilling and the Canon OEM carts are just designed so well as to provide this, even after multiple refills. Top-filling is simple enough and there's the Durchstich (German) method for those who prefer it too. If you get feed issues it's easy to assume the problem is clogging but often it's down to flow within the cartridge and remedying it can be relatively painless so long as you take your time.

As for inks I have a vested interest so I'm going to keep schtum on that, but given the 9000 has been around for so long the inks available are obviously pretty established and tweaked as they'll ever be.

As with all things it's easy to assume it'll "just work" but often there's a learning curve to offset the initial cost savings. Worth taking the time though but again I'm biased

OctoMartin's right about re-using original Canon CLI-8 cartridges. Overfilling's too easy with opaque cartridges.
I've been top-filling original Canon CLI-8 cartridges for a while and here's a way to stop ink leaking out of the exit hole whilst you're filling it up:
(1) save the orange-coloured ink-exit cap that came with the cartridge
(2) trim off the plastics 'tabs' that are left from snapping the cap off
(3) when refilling, replace the cap and keep in place with a strong elastic band
(4) after replacing the top bung remove the cap
(5) replace full cartridge in printer

I've been top-filling original Canon CLI-8 cartridges for a while and here's a way to stop ink leaking out of the exit hole whilst you're filling it up:

(1) save the orange-coloured ink-exit cap that came with the cartridge
(2) trim off the plastics 'tabs' that are left from snapping the cap off
(3) when refilling, replace the cap and keep in place with a strong elastic band
(4) after replacing the top bung remove the cap
(5) replace full cartridge in printer

Just to add on the ink leaking front, there are a few other options too.
1. Seal up the exit port using electrical tape stretched over the port [i](being careful to make sure it does actually cover the hole obviously!)[/i]
2. Use one of the third party orange clips from refillables or other sources. These are actually more stable, holding the cartridge horizontal while you refill so you can free up a hand while refilling.
3. If you're really bored you could even build your own little refill jig with a silicon disk to seal the port and a rubber band to hold the cartridge in position but unless you're a frustrated engineer that loves coming up with stuff like that, it could be seen as overkill ;)

Just to add on the ink leaking front, there are a few other options too.

1. Seal up the exit port using electrical tape stretched over the port (being careful to make sure it does actually cover the hole obviously!)

2. Use one of the third party orange clips from refillables or other sources. These are actually more stable, holding the cartridge horizontal while you refill so you can free up a hand while refilling.

3. If you're really bored you could even build your own little refill jig with a silicon disk to seal the port and a rubber band to hold the cartridge in position but unless you're a frustrated engineer that loves coming up with stuff like that, it could be seen as overkill